Nexus 4 houses LTE secret

After all of the commotion over a lack of 4G LTE for the new Nexus 4 smartphone from Google, it appears that there may be light at the end of the tunnel after all. A recent teardown of Google’s latest flagship device has unearthed a super secret 4G LTE chip which Google conveniently failed to mention at any stage during launch, instead offering the device to consumers with HSPA+ capabilities only.

It’s no secret that consumers are still pretty livid that Google isn’t offering a Nexus 4 device with LTE support. For whatever reason, Google has basically said that they do not need it and HSPA+ will have to make do as an alternative. Thanks to a Nexus 4 teardown though, iFixit has revealed that a dormant Qualcomm WTR1605L Seven-Band 4G LTE chip is fitted inside – leading to all sorts of conspiracy theories online as to a possible reasoning behind the move.

The obvious question at hand first, is what is an LTE chip doing inside the device if Google has no use for it. Excited consumers who have already heard the whispers started to believe that developers over at the XDA Developer Forums could start waving their magic wand and be able to activate 4G LTE service unofficially, if Google are not willing to.

Unfortunately, this immediate idea has already been shot down by tech savvy consumers who notice that despite the inclusion of a LTE chip, there is no accompanying LTE radio needed to get the signal up and running. That still doesn’t answer the question on why it is there in the first place though, as Google would obviously want to save money by not having it, if they have no plans to use it.

Another theory is that the chip is situated there, only to imitate that of the LG Optimus G smartphone, which features the same hardware architecture that the Nexus 4 does. Either way, it is an interesting discovery and a real teaser on the possibility of Google releasing a Nexus 4 LTE model in the future.

For those that have newly acquired a HSPA+ based Nexus 4, are you now slightly suspicious over the fact that Google are now keeping a hidden 4G LTE chip inside the device?